Libby therapy business has soft chairs, big plans

When Kirsten Koenig on Feb. 6 opened Mountain Rose Counseling in Libby, she made sure to have more than pillow-soft rocking lounges for her trauma therapy clients.

“Not everyone likes to sit and talk, even in such comfortable chairs,” said Koenig. “So I have lots of fidget toys and I also walk with clients or practice expressive arts therapy with them.”

Since opening her office at 1222 Minnesota Ave. Koenig has seen all kinds of patients, from couples to children to veterans. Business has been sufficiently brisk that she hired Haley O’Brien — whose four-year old daughter she had been counseling — as case manager and assistant in June.

Reflecting her belief that therapy “should not be the same every time, because if there is no growth there’s no point,” Koenig plans to expand into group work, holding small group therapy for grief, depression and other uniting traumas as needed.

Koenig earned her doctorate in general psychology in 2016, making her one of only two therapists in Libby with a doctorate in the field. Koenig aims to continue her education and become a certified psychologist in the near future.

“I only have one more year of supervision to achieve that qualification,” she said.

Koenig’s Blackfoot heritage partly informs her decision making. She said she moved to Libby from Ohio in August 2015 to work as a therapist at Western Montana Mental Health because “the creator led me here and I love it, love it, love it, the mountains, the clean air, the smell of the trees.”

Mountain Rose Counseling accepts all major insurance, including Medicaid. For more information or to make an appointment, call 406-293-768.